mat Black 60: Thanks for your analysis of the corner, it now causes me really a big headache when I look back at Black 42 and Black 50. I considered the following hane underneath when I played Black 48, but due to an error in reading it out I got afraid of it.... what a pity! Black 60 seems natural to me, I considered a as well - as it seems to secure the corner, but I was afraid of White 60, White b and White c. I suppose you will go for the 3-3 invasion next, but at least I will be able to build a wall underneath you.
Dave White 61: White 59 is unlikely to make sense if I follow up with a 3-3 play. When White enters at 3-3, one of the points is to try to use defects in Black's position to make forcing moves that build some kind of shape. White 59 "forces" Black to patch the gap in his one-space jump. In most situations (maybe this one too :-) it is a thank you move that Black is happy to answer. It can only make sense together with other white plays on the outside.
mat Black 62: At d may be natural, but if I continue just to defend I will lose the game, so here's my next experiment
Dave White 63: this is supposed to be a teaching game so I choose to set you a problem with this rather vague 63. Whatever you choose in turn for 64, I am interested in your thoughts behind it.
mat Black 64: Isn't this miai? I threaten either to capture White 61 or to connect to the marked stone. This plan may be an overplay in view of my strength but I feel that the komi is nearly reached with my losses in the upper left.
mat OK, now I've just seen "TG53 after W61". (Probably I should have waited with Black 64 and see if defending is better. Anyway I don't withdraw the move and will spend some time on your question now.)
Dave White 65: I will respond to your move before looking at TG53 after W61 :-) Your 62 and 64 look too thick to fool around with. I have to strengthen my framework. It is worth considering what White would have done if you had played 64 at 65. It looks like I would have been unable to stop you from breaking into the upper side. White 63 may have been a mistake on my part.
mat Black 66: I am happy to hear that you won't 'fool around' ;-)
Dave White 67: This seems inevitable...
mat Let's make things complicated...
Dave OK!
mat Hey, why don't you do what I think you are going to do? Maybe I need a new plan ;-) However, Black 70 was obvious...
Dave White 51 Let us see what you make of this.
mat I hope that works...
Dave Funny, I am hoping the same thing about mine :-)
mat OK, Black 50 might have been wrong. However I'm not going to die!
Dave Let's settle things a bit and then take a look back at the corner. White 55.
mat Black 56 can't be wrong.
Dave White 57: unfortunately 56 is almost certainly wrong. Black has been tricked here (or has tricked himself). White 57 is very big; White has blocked on both sides and the corner is not alive yet.
mat Hmmm, I thought I made my mistake earlier... If I had played 57, you could have enclosed me below and instead taken the upper two stones. Is that a big difference? Anyway: Black 58.
Dave White 59, the upper left has stabilized and White has sente. Kitani Minoru's teacher, Kubomatsu, used this maneuver against a black one-point jump to expand his moyo in a three-stone game played when Kitani was 13 years old. I have always wanted to try it. :-)
Dave, if this game would be continued by two players of equal strength (and with normal komi), White would win, wouldn't she? At what time did Black lose the advantage of her two stones? mat
Probably it might be instructive for me if you (or anybody else) could give a short analysis of the current situation. I find it very difficult to learn when action and feedback (in terms of territory/life outcome) are separated by lots of moves. mat
Dave: OK, let's look at the situation - TG53 After Black 40.
Dave: Meanwhile back at the game... White 41 (too blunt for a teaching game?)
mat: Black 42 (Initially I was aiming at the outside, let's see if I will get there in the end...)
Dave White 43 OK, let's see what I can do to prevent it :-)
mat Black 44 you must have expected this...
Dave White 45 it was the most likely...
mat Black 46 so was mine... See you in two days, I'm leaving for a short trip!
Dave In a position like this you should also consider playing 46 at a or b. If Black wants to push downward from the corner, the cutting point at b in the game is a problem. White 47, White closes the open skirt at the top.
mat Black 48 Hmmm, I'm in an adventurous mood today. I can't read it out to the end, but I feel that the possibility to connect either near the border or to help a breakthrough in the center is a good thing (miai?). Will you go to f? I think g is a good response to f. Probably you will go to 9 - then f may be my response.
It is interesting to play that way. The second time I look at a situation I change my mind very often!
Dave I will try White 49
mat Black 50 (as announced)
White 31 - Good luck! You may be trying too hard here (then again I may die :-) That's all for me today so read it out at your leisure. Dave
Black 32 - Do I have a choice? I don't want you to cut at a with atari, so I can't let you get Black 32, so I have to get it instead. I am weak at reading (the other player often chooses moves I didn't think of) so I like this sort of "mental shortcut"...
I think you will continue with b and so far I think I go on with c.
Unfortunately I will not have internet access during a journey that I start tomorrow. Maybe we manage one more move until I leave, then there is a break of two weeks. Sorry for that, I'm looking forward to continue.
White 33 - I will play toward the corner. I am a little busy tonight with the family so I may not be able to play again if you answer. Why don't we stop here and you can take the situation away with you on your trip, think it over, and decide what looks good to you next? There is no hurry. See you when you get back. Dave
Black 34 - I will defend the corner (the Internet is everywhere!) I think I might be able to stop you somehow if you go further up, so the lower side might be more important...
White 35 - I will descend here, I think it keeps more options open for me. Dave
Black 36 - OK, tenuki (I'm home again) mat
White 37: Welcome back mat! How was the trip? Dave
Black 38: In this phase of the game I usually start to guess a lot. Should I have tried to connect 36 with other black stones on the right? should I make an invasion into the upper left corner / upper side? I don't know really how to judge the value of those moves...
White 39: I receive you from the outside. What plan do you have or what plan will you create? :-)
Black 40: I've wanted to play in your corner for some time. I can't see if d or e is better. I decided to go for the outside since that may work with Black 38 and Black 36 (although I have no precise idea how). All I'm trying to do here is to destroy some of your territory...
What do you think about the exchange in the bottom? Black is overconcentrated on the left, has peeped at a bamboo joint and even tried to cut it. As for White, he has made an empty triangle.
Real fights involve trade-offs. How do you assess these? -- Bill
Instead of peeping and trying to cut a bamboo joint, the keima (marked) extends into the center and threatens White's group. White still has the empty triangle.
Both of these diagrams have the same net number of stones. Which is better for Black?
White 21 - I will connect. However, you need not continue as below if you have changed your mind in the mean time (although it may speed things up it may also defeat the purpose of a teaching game). Dave (ps: Bill, I didn't have the nerve to claim the generic "Dave" for my very own. But since you did it for me what can I do except accept, thanks :-)
OK, I changed my mind. Normally I try not to follow the hints of others (although I read them carefully), since I want to learn rather than win. But Black 22 is "my" move. I may have chosen it anyway. Looking at the stones on the board is different from thinking over it ;-) However I think it is good for a teaching game to say what I have planned. So: I think you will connect at a (3) and I think I will connect at b (4). I'm a bit afraid of your possibility of playing at b (4), I can't overlook what will happen then (probably I'd go to c).
White 23, Black 24, White 25 - OK, let's play it out and see what happens. I will continue by attaching at 25 to see how you will react in the corner. Dave
Black 26 - I'm weak at josekis but that looks reasonable...
White 27 - One continuation
Black 28 -
White 29 ...
Black 30 ...
White 11 - I chose tengen partly as one of the key points between the white and black moyos under construction. However, I am also thinking about the usefulness in supressing/invading Black's right and bottom as mentioned on IGS 5k Against Low Chinese.
Black 12 - OK, I'll try to play wider. Black 12 is good for both wings and as far as I can judge, it somehow makes Black 10 look better. Furthermore, it should help me in the center, too. I thought about playing a as it attacks White and makes my influence better, but I wasn't so sure if it would really be sente, so I chose Black 12 (Black 12 isn't sente either, but I feel that it is bigger)
White 13 - Let's see what you do with this. Of course I am trying to punish Black 10 and the availability of the shoulder hit is one of the things that I didn't like about it. Dave
mat: You call it my best move so far? Is there a problem with Black 2 to Black 8? Well, I'm glad you liked Black 12.
Black 14 - I don't have much choice, have I? I'm not "brave" enough to play tenuki and c might give you the opportunity to push against my moyo in the lower left and at the same time locking up your huge moyo, so Black 14 is the only move I can think of.
White 15 - trying to play quickly and lightly, looking at the center or the bottom depending on how you play. By the way, if I had played at 16, what would you have played? Dave
Black 16 - OK, I will try to cut. To be honest, I don't know what I would have answered to White 16, probably tenuki (when in doubt...) Is my Overconcentrated shape a result of Black 10 or could I have played Black 14 elsewhere?
Black 18 - as expected
White 19 - The normal solid connection would leave behind a black splitting play at e. This 19 looks at the relationship with the stone on tengen. (It is bedtime in Tokyo, you can choose your next play at your leisure. See you tomorrow!) Dave
Black 20 - If you connect, I might play at f.
I start with 1 at the 3-5 point. It is an asymmetric move. In a two-stone game I expect that you will want to play first in the open corner so that I will then have the choice of playing again to exploit my first move. Dave
Hmm I've never played with that much komi. I think I should play just a little bit more defensive to make advantage of it - just as I would have done with more stones. I can't think of any more specific strategy right now (perhaps later). I have just read your page about the 3-5 point ... Anyway - as expected: I play in the open corner. I like the 4-4 point. I've got used to it in handicap games...Mat